Beer: Reviews & Ratings

32 oz Crowler. Copper color with slight haze. Tropical fruit sweet aroma. Fruity floral hops that lingers the right amount. Great balance in this beer. Sweet tasting but in a good way, with dry hoppy finish. Good mouthfeel, exceptionally smooth and drinkable. First brew I had by them and it did not disappoint. Outstanding IPA. (329 characters)

a: very clear light copper with a finger and a half of tight off-white head that leaves decent lacing

s: doesn't knock you over, but linger a bit and there's a lot to recommend: bright and sweet, a little tropical citrus, both pulp and rind, some bright flowery sweet notes, with just a hint of light caramel and bready goodness as well.

t: Lots of hops but not very bitter and interesting malty sweetness that is neither cloying nor heavy...provides a really great balance. A little more piney resin, especially on the end than I get in the nose. This is fairly subtle, but it has a depth that can be savored.

I'm not sure I've ever drank 20oz of beer so quickly in my life. Served at Von's Gustobistro in Seattle. Wanted to visit the brewery when I was in Bend, but they weren't open at the time. Seeing this on the menu, I knew I had to try it.

Wish I took notes. All I can really remember is that, other than being insanely drinkable and excellently balanced, it has pine hops, juicy hops, malt sweetness, and is really mouth watering. Clean finish. Thirst quenching. Easy drinking. (476 characters)

Pours a medium golden-yellow body, one finger white head with solid retention time and a fair bit of lacing. Smells of tropical fruit and citrus; mild floral and pine notes, mellow bready presence in the background, rich resin, grain. Flavour is excellent; tropical fruit, pine, mild grain and bready presence, grapefruit, citrus, floral notes. This is a ridiculously interesting APA, especially as far as the flavour profile goes. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, dry, not resinous, mildly bitter grapefruit, but incredibly easy to drink. Overall, this is an excellent APA that to me, reinforces Boneyard's status as one of the best producers of the west coast style pale ale archetype. Their hoppy offerings certainly compete with anything made in California. (802 characters)

Pours a nice, bright light-orange color with a small and quickly dissipating white head. Very little bubble retention here.

Crisp aroma of malt with very piney, floral, resinous hops. Citrus of any kind is muted at the start, but a bit of lemon/orange presence is noted when the beer warms.

Taste is bitter and hoppy. Again, resin and pine are much, much more notable than the faint hint of citrus--mostly lemon--but those hop essences are fresh and tasty. Still, this flavor seems a bit one-dimensional and not as complex as hoped for. I'm being picky, I know, due to expectations. A very nice malt backbone does help add some balance to the flavor profile.

Moderate carbonation, pretty full body, and a nice sharp hoppy aftertaste make for a very potent and impressive feel to this one.

So this is a nice beer overall. However, I would say that due to buildup and expectations, I am a bit underwhelmed. The lack of citrus and hop complexity does take a bit away from my overall expectations. Still, this is a very nice offering and definitely worth a try. I might not consider it 'world class,' but that is just one man's opinion, I guess. (1,159 characters)

L: amber-orange color. It's clearish and nicely filitered. A very nice white head to top it off

S: Very piney almost spruce like, some bits of citrus in there (tad oily).

T: Well balanced for a IPA at 7.5%, backend bittnerness that you will see in most NW IPA'S, but nothing overwhelming, the balance actually allows you to drink a few no problem. Nothing to overpowering in terms of hop presence (citra i'm guessing)/ blanced nicely with the malt (very smooth)

F: Very nice feel, I say one of the creamier IPA'S I've had in terms of the mouthfeel which I don't mind, not "thin" at all

Overall: I really really enjoy this beer from the good folks at Boneyard down their in Bend. I think this has to be one of my TOP 3 favorite IPA'S currently. Very refreshing but will kick ya in the pants if you have few. Can't wait to see this beer avaliable in sixers! Was rated top 5 craft brew by a recent USA Today article (for what thats worth) (984 characters)

A: Darker amber body with some mild conditioned clearing to it. Smallish finger of khaki tan suds holds over for a few moments until dying out to a crown. Light streamers of lace hug the glass after every sip.

S: Smells like freshy fresh green hops! Oh so nice. Sappy pine abounds and entwines with zesty lemongrass and some lightly floral notes. I get some light malt sweetness contributing underneath all the green action.

T: Taste delivers that same combination of resinous pines fused with lemony citrus and a touch of hop floral. Very smooth with a lower bitterness to it and much more restrained than I was expecting. Nice balance with no alcohol noted. The finish brings some pithy resin and a dash more floral grassiness. Pretty solid but a slight step down from the nose.

M: The body is on the lighter side and even a touch watery at times. Nice creamy consistency with a dry resinous finish to it.

D: Was really amped to find this on tap in San Diego. In fact this beer was my draw to coming into URGE. That said it is solid and a really great find but left me a slightly disappointed in the flavor department. Maybe it didn’t travel well or I am just spoiled who knows. Still great and worth checking out. (1,350 characters)

Nice, deep amber-orange color. It's clear and well-filtered with a small (3mm or so) very white head. Well carbonated, overall.

The smell is top-notch. I get tons of spruce/fir pine out of it. There's a tiny bit of oily citrus in there.

The flavor is well-balanced for a fairly big IPA. It's bitter without knocking you out -- in other words a bit light on the back-of-the-mouth bitterness that you get in a lot of NW IPAs. Much of the hops comes across in the smell as well, which helps the whole thing work in concert. Really big, round, dry flavor. It's very easy to drink for a 7.5 ABV IPA.

Kind of refreshing for an IPA. I've been finding this one around town a lot and keep picking it when it's available. I just had this back-to-back with Pliny the Elder on tap and while I'd lean toward the Pliny this one really held its own surprisingly well.

A super solid choice. I hope this keeps showing up on tap when I go out! (941 characters)

A tad bit more malt than a true West coast IPA but certainly very hop forward and just this side of slick on the mouthfeel. Well balanced body helps carry the heavy pine and citrus rind/pith. Easy drinking, enjoyable, and certainly a dependable IPA. (251 characters)

Pretty killer IPA. Was expecting something with way more of a punch-you-in-the-mouth bitterness flavor and, while there is certainly a big hop presence, the big bitter flavor isn't really there. It is still very well balanced, goes down pretty sweet and smooth. Head retention was an issue for me but after reading reviews complimenting the beer im this area I have concluded that it may have been the growler i had it from. Still a very noteworthy IPA. Would have again. (472 characters)

A coupl'a oddities: here it says 75 IBUs and 7.5 ABV... Their site says 50/6.5; I reckon it's somewhere in between. They also do not reveal the hops, but suggest there are six NW. I detect Citra allll through this beer (though light in the nose)...fantastic! A near perfect Citra IPA...I'd drink this whenever/wherever I find it! (329 characters)

To me this beer is like listening to a superbly recorded and produced album where every instrument can be heard and felt as intended, everything working in harmony to the listener's delight or in (196 characters)

I love this beer, it's a hoptacular brew. It maintains a head for a good time despite its 7%+ abv had wonderful lacing, this is also in my top five, only problem is no bottling, but trips to the brewery and to all the local pubs in Portland keeps me coming back for more. Please try this if you can, this reminds of oskar blues back in the day. Long live boneyard beer!! 4.5/5 O.B.D91 (385 characters)

a classic northwest style ipa here, with lots of cascade and centennial characteristics. while i cant confirm that those are the varietals used, i can say with certainty that attributes of those strains on on display here no doubt. the color is a little richer than many, brassy, with a long lasting lacy white head. aromas of pine forest, lush evergreen, christmas, vegetal, pulpy. there is a decent grain base to this too, with come caramel malt that while it doesnt contribute a ton to the flavor, its absence would leave this hopelessly unbalanced. its got some girth to the mouthfeel, which is nice with the wintery hop mix. the hops are unique here not for what they taste like, but for how robust they are. truly as strong on the front end as they are in the finish, i cant think of a lot of ipas that do that, and none do it so vividly and pungently as this beast. i like that its bigger too, a hop heads dream really, super fresh and aggressive, dank and sprucy. not overly complicated either which i like, just big well built ipa. if this was available here i would buy it all the time. its my kind of ipa. (1,116 characters)

dark copper color, great head. huge dank aroma. taste of in your face goodness that assaults your palate with hoppy goodness but is also extremely smooth and drinkable. crushable, actually. I'm in awe of how good this is. its possibly the best IPA I've ever had. great job boneyard! (314 characters)

This very good IPA was served with a white, light minimal head that appeared a clear, dark golden orange. The aroma was sweet, hoppy, and inviting. The taste was very balanced and even. The combination of hops and malt made me think of Centennial Ale, however, this is a better representation of that nice combo. Hoppy, sweet fruit, and resinous, with a malty finish. The mouthfeel compliments very well.

Overall, this is a nice IPA with great drinkability. Boneyard did a very nice job crafting this IPA. One of the better, if not the best IPA from the Northwest. (565 characters)

On tap at the 2014 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest held at the Paso Robles Event Center in Paso Robles, CA.

Pours a hazy orange with a foamy bone head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Tiny dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, citrus fruit, and citrus zest aromas. Taste is much the same with sweet citrus zest flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty but has a slightly better hop presence in the smell. (636 characters)

The beer pours a clear copper color, hues of amber and bronze with a nice amount of bubbles rising to the top of the glass where a foamy, soapy white head forms, about two fingers high with great retention and leaves a vast wall of soapy lace behind. The aroma is very intense, lots of pine, sap, crisp hop spice that is quite earthy but very vibrant and the same time, plenty of juicy citrus and hints of wildflower assist in the hop showcase while a nice counterbalance of rich malt pops out, not overly sweet at all, just enough for harmony. The flavors follow the mold well, bitter pine and hops spice, very resinous and sappy, with a fair amount of tangy grapefruit peel and a pronounced wildflower character, definitely helps with the dank and weedy qualities but also brings out some meadowy and bright flavors while the malt is a great anchor on the tongue, helps ease the beer over the finish line, great balance. The mouthfeel is sticky but juicy, coats the mouth wonderfully and finishes nicely with a bit of a crisp yet creamy feel that ends with a nice dry bite.

Verdict: A truly delicious IPA from Boneyard. It's super sticky, sappy, juicy and perfectly bitter without overloading the palate thanks the balanced malt profile. I had no problems crushing a 32oz growler over an evening and look forward to trying this beer again in the future. (1,406 characters)